The Burning X
by Cobalt Fox
Summary: This is based on what I think happened with Glenn when he wasn't recruited into Serge's party. Please R&R and inform me of any grammical or spelling errors. BTW, don't feel bad to flame me. I need all the advice I can get. Possible romance later on.(???)


(Note: This takes place after Kid is infected with the Hydra Venom, but before the Acacia Dragoons go to Fort Dragonia. BTW, I don't own Chrono Cross. If I did, I wouldn't be hanging around here. ^_^)  
  
The Burning X  
  
There are some things that I'll never have, that will always be too far for me to reach, but these things are not miles away. No, on the contrary, they're right in front of my face, scant inches from my grasp, constantly mocking me. Right now, at this very moment, the only thing I have ever desired is right in front of me, begging for me to take it as my own. I can smell the intoxicating aroma emanating from it; hear the beautiful siren song it uses to lure me to the metaphorical jagged rocks jutting from the water's surface. I have to have it! I want it! No one can take it away from me! There is only one obstacle in my path, and that is the fact that what I want doesn't want me in return. I hate it for that! I hate the fact that what I want unknowingly shuns me, as if I held no value at all. Perhaps it is right. Perhaps I do hold no value, but that doesn't give it the right to torture me! I want it so badly! I want her more than anything else I've ever encountered. I want Riddel.  
  
-Glenn Ruehardt  
Private First Class  
Regiment 027  
Acacia Dragoons  
El Nido Archipelago  
  
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Glenn stood there, some would say he was intruding in Riddel's private chambers, but he couldn't care less. The prize standing before him was too enticing for him to care about punishment.  
  
He stared with hungry eyes, and a longing heart. His vision lingered at the violet tresses that spilled to the center of her back, the milky complexion caused by lack of sunlight, the sea foam dress that hugged her delicate curves. The makeup was the only thing that was unappealing to him. In his mind all that the heavy mascara and thick lipstick did was blur the extent of her overwhelming beauty, although he'd never tell her that. All of these features were wrapped into a single, alluring package silhouetted against the two moons. Glenn took a shaky breath and considered leaving at that very moment, but he was driven on by scolding himself silently.  
  
"Come on you damned coward! There she is! Go to her! It's not like Dario's alive any more! He would want me to do this! I have to keep her away from all of the lesser Dragoons, right?"  
  
After a few minutes of coaxing himself, he regained his elusive composure and took a few steps forward. Riddel stood still, oblivious to the Dragoon's presence. "Lady Riddel?" he asked, just a decibel below a whisper. Still, she didn't budge. He took a few more tentative baby steps, and somehow gained enough courage to touch her on her slender shoulder.  
  
Riddel jumped, and let out a squeak. She turned sharply to look behind her, her silky locks waving through the air, catching flashes of moon light. Her eyes caught glimpse of his. For several minutes they did nothing but stare in wonder at each other; both for their own set of reasons. Riddel's eyes finally adjusted themselves accordingly to the faint illumination around them. The first things she saw was a head of shaggy and an X-shaped scar. No doubt in her hand, it was her Glenn, that cute little puppy that she had always kept under her keen eye. Her expression contorted back to her usual gentle smile as her eyes focused on Glenn's facial features.  
  
"Oh, Glenn, it's only you. I apologize for my being startled. With those people breaking into the manor last night I'm still a bit edgy."  
  
"No need for apologies, Lady Riddel. I'm more cautious than usual as well." Glenn squints in the faint glow of the moons, and sees that Riddel's mascara is running down her cheeks. "Lady Riddel, is something wrong?"  
  
She felt her cheek; her soft fingers barely grazed the wetness. "I-i-it's nothing for you to be concerned of Glenn." She turned away from him to stare from her balcony.  
  
"Lady Riddel, what is the matter? Even before the intruders entered the manor you have been acting strangely." Glenn pondered this in silence for a moment, before coming to the disappointing conclusion. "It's him isn't it? You're thinking about Dario again. You always act like this when both of the moons are full."  
  
Riddel began to tear up at this point. She looked down to the ground, at the almost transparent dress that trailed around her feet. "I just can't help it, Glenn. I was.staring at the full moons the same night I was informed that.my Dario was missing. I try to get over it .but it won't go away." Talking about it was too much for her, and she burst into a stream of tears.  
  
Glenn thought to himself angrily, "MY Dario! It's always MY Dario! She's doing it again! She's mocking me because she knows that I can never have her! Damn it! Damn it to Hell and back!"  
  
"Lady Riddel, please! You have to get over this! Dario is never coming back! He loved you, and you loved him, but that love is over now! Stop being such a stubborn bitch, and get on with your life!" Glenn surprised himself with the harshness of his words! He had never been one to speak with such a venomous tongue. Well, at least not to Riddel. He had always been the one to respect her feelings; he had never so much as raised his voice in her presence.  
  
"G-G-Glenn, but you don't understand how this feels. To."  
  
".Never have what you want!? Is that it!? I know much more about that than you do!"  
  
She didn't have a response. She stood there motionless, with large, sullen eyes.  
  
"These thoughts about Dario cannot make you happy! They never will!" He interlocked the fingers of his hand with Riddel's. "But I can! I can show you the happiness you've been longing for all this time! Let me show you what Dario can never give you."  
  
Her eyes were wide with an indeterminable emotion, some sort of bizarre mixture of shock, fear, and absolute disgust. Exactly who did Glenn- no! This wasn't Glenn. This wasn't the little boy whom she had taken care of. This wasn't HER Glenn. This was just another amorous Dragoon looking for wealth and power. This was someone who was trying to replace Dario. He could never give what Dario had given her. She tore her hand away from his stern grip, and backed away from this intruder.  
  
"Riddel, you know as well as I do that Dario will never come back. Why waste your young life with a vow of celibacy? Why deny the physical and emotional joy I could give you? Stop living in the past! Stop bursting into tears at the sight of a pair of full moons!"  
  
She wasn't about to take any more of these absurd ramblings. She reared back and caught Glenn in the face with a brusque slap, ironically landing on the scar carved into his left cheek. Without another word, she stormed off, not caring about the stranger on her balcony.  
  
Glenn sat there, feeling tears swell in his eyes, staring grudgingly at the full moons.  
  
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(What'd you think? Was it good? Don't be afraid to flame this if it's not to your liking. I need reviews) 


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